In 2015, Nintendo released a brand new IP in the form of
Splatoon. This new third-person shooter from the house that Mario built shocked
nearly everyone upon release, as almost no one expected it to be as good as it
was. Throughout the first year or so of the game’ life, Nintendo continued to
support their new IP with free DLC that gave the already awesome game some much
needed more depth. The sequel to this hit shooter recently released, but this
time, it wasn’t taking anyone by surprise. The hype for Splatoon 2 was through
the roof during the time leading up to its launch. Despite the massive hype,
Nintendo did not disappoint and once again delivered on an epic Switch game.
Splatoon 2 brings over all of the depth added to its predecessor, while adding
its own new touches that makes it stand on its own as a full-fledged sequel
rather than just another port.
Online Battles: Even better the
second time
There is no denying that Splatoon 2 is, first and foremost,
a competitive multiplayer game. While Nintendo stumbled out of the gate with
their original foray into its ink based shooter, they weren’t going to make the
same mistake twice. Splatoon 2 offers up every online game mode from its
predecessor. Even though there is currently nothing new in the PvP arsenal,
there didn’t really have to be. Splatoon offered 4 excellent online game modes,
including the standard turf war, as well as the 3 ranked battle modes:
rainmaker, tower control, and splat zones. Rather than try to fix what wasn’t broken
by drastically changing these game modes or removing them in favor of other
modes, Nintendo chose to add small, but significant improvements to each mode.
Ranging from the addition of checkpoints to tower control, to a tiny UI change
in splat zones. Each small change Nintendo made seems insignificant at first,
but ultimately helps to improve upon their already stellar competitive modes.
One major change that Nintendo made to Splatoon 2 is likely
the most obvious, the removal of the second screen experience. In Splatoon 1,
players had to look down at their Wii U gamepad for all menus, and more
importantly, in-match maps. While the second screen was a neat design that was imperative
to other games on the Wii U, for Splatoon, it was actually an unintuitive choice
that costed players valuable seconds. A few seconds may not seem like much, but
when in the heat of an intense battle, taking the time to look down at the
gamepad was often times costly. Splatoon 2 fixed this problem as a result of
different hardware. Now maps and menus are all able to be popped up on screen
with just the tap of a button. This allows players to stay more engaged in
their matches, as they never have to take their eyes off of the TV screen.
As it was with the original Splatoon, Splatoon 2’s
competitive online modes are each variations of modes that had been previously
established by other games in the shooter genre. For example, splat zones are
very similar to Call of Duty’s hard point mode. The only exception to this is turf
war, which is wholly unique in its game mechanics and play. Despite drawing
inspiration from modes found in other shooters, Splatoon 2’s modes are far more
than just cheap rip offs. Every mode has a unique twist on it and is oozing
with Nintendo’s unique charm that makes them feel entirely fresh and almost unrecognizable.
Unfortunately, there are still small details that Nintendo
has failed to add to their sequel. One such detail is the option to change
weapon loadouts within matches, or between matches without leaving your current
lobby, at the very least. This is an option that is standard for the shooter
genre, and it is a shame that Nintendo chose to omit this option once again. In
a game where team based strategy is crucial, it is often desirable to change
your weapon mid-match in order to better compliment the loadouts of your
teammates. However, with Nintendo not adding an in match loadout changing
option, this modern convenience feels just out of reach once again. Another,
more nitpicky, complaint is the lack of between match entertainment. The
original Splatoon offered the forever endearing Squid Jump, while Splatoon 2
only offers a quirky, subtle sound mixer. I understand that the lack of a
second screen this time around made adding a mini game more difficult, but it
feels like there should have been a way to include this. It must be acknowledged,
however, that Nintendo could very easily fix these two problems via DLC or a
patch. For the time being, though, it is a shame that these are not options.
A new story for a new hero
When you
slip into Splatoon 2’s iteration of Octo Canyon, it is a very familiar experience.
With the layout of levels and hub worlds being nearly identical, it might be
easy to overlook this game’s hero mode as a cheap repeat of the original’s. However,
if you take time just to look around the very first hub world and its set of
levels, then you will see that, while things appear similar, they are actually
vastly improved. Whether you are new to Splatoon or a returning player from the
Wii U game, you will be able to fully enjoy Splatoon 2’s story. Returning
players will likely get a little more out of hero mode’s story, as they will be
more invested on account of Marie’s pivotal role in the mode. Returning
characters help to boost Splatoon 2’s story as they give a sense of investment
to the universe and help build its lore.
On top of a
more invested story, small improvements such as smarter AI makes the Octarians feel
more like intelligent enemies rather than mindless bots. This helps increase
the difficulty to keep more experienced players entertained, though it is not
so difficult that younger players can’t enjoy it as well. There is also even
more reason to explore the hub worlds and replay levels in Splatoon 2. New
collectibles have been added to the hub world, as well as creatively hidden
throughout levels. This should inspire players to check every corner of every
map in pursuit of 100% completing the story mode. The replay value doesn’t stop
there, though. Various weapons can now be used for every level, which gives
each level a new feel every time you play it with a new weapon.
While
traveling to Octo Canyon in Splatoon 2 may feel familiar, it does not take long
to set itself apart as a new and improved story mode. With a higher difficulty,
more collectibles, and a decent amount of replay value, hero mode is worth
checking out. The story is still not the main course of Splatoon 2, but it is
certainly a worthy side dish.
The new squid on the block
The only
major game mode added to Splatoon 2 thus far is salmon run, but it sure is a
great one. In this new game mode, players are charged with surviving three
consecutive waves of enemy Salmonids and various boss Salmonids. All the while,
players must reach a certain quota of golden eggs, which are dropped by
defeated boss Salmonids. Fail to meet the quota of golden eggs, or have all
your teammates splatted simultaneously, then it is game over. This is a very
straight forward premise that should make for a relatively easy gaming experience,
but that is not the case at all. Multiple details of the map/waves are
randomized, thus creating a varyingly difficult and new experience nearly every
play through. Everything from the weapon you carry, the size of the island, and
the boss Salmonids that spawn are randomly generated. This makes for an
unpredictable playing experience that can range from fairly easy to brutally
difficult, depending on the hand that you draw. This randomized experience and
varying difficulty possibilities make for an incredibly satisfying feat when
all 3 waves are actually cleared.
There is
also a satisfying leveling up system to be found in salmon run. Players receive
points that help them level up when all three waves are completed. However,
there is pressure to win, as if you fail, then you lose points that you had
previously earned. This leveling up system allows players to climb the ladder
at Grizzco Industries (the in-game company that runs salmon run) from recruit,
to part-timer and so on. Players can also unlock special bonuses as they
increase their paygrade while playing salmon run. A difficult and randomized
gameplay mechanic coupled with a satisfying leveling up system creates a truly addicting
gameplay loop that sets salmon run apart from anything else found in Splatoon
2.
Staying fresher than ever
Clothing and
apparel played a huge role in the original Splatoon, as it provided both
individuality and special abilities. The same is even more true for Splatoon 2,
and now customizing clothing to fit your exact style and needs is more
intuitive than ever. With even more clothing styles to choose from, brand new
added abilities, and a less randomized way to pick and choose abilities,
Splatoon 2 absolutely got the style right.
As it was in
Splatoon 1, clothing items are mostly acquired through shops found within
Inkopolis. These clothing items come preloaded with 1 special ability, but up
to 3 more can be added. Adding these special abilities can be done in several
ways, which is where Splatoon 2 stands apart from its predecessor once again.
Along with randomized additional abilities being added through simply playing
with that item equipped, players can now choose what abilities they want added.
Doing this process does take additional money and effort, but it only seems
fair, as it helps balance the game and prevents players from having severely
overpowered clothing loadouts. Players can now visit a character known as Murch
in order to scrap abilities off of clothing in return for a type of currency
specific to this character. Use this currency along with additional coins to
buy abilities for specific clothing items. This change makes clothing and
apparel even more interesting and vital than it was in Splatoon 1.
Connection achievements and voice
chat woes
Not much
time needs to be spent here, but a few things do need to be mentioned. Let’s
start with the positives. Nintendo really did a great job making matchmaking a
better experience. Apart from the Switch’s Wi-Fi antenna limitations, there are
very few hiccups in terms of internet/connection issues to be found in Splatoon
2. As long as you have an internet that can push at least 4 Mbps, then
disconnects or trouble joining lobbies should very rarely be an issue. So from
a connection standpoint, Nintendo knocked this one out of the park, which is a
great sigh of relief for a company that used to struggle so much with online
play.
Now onto the
negative part of this topic. Nintendo is still struggling mightily with in-game
voice chat. They have to be acknowledged for at least trying with the Nintendo
Switch Online App, but it is a product that works much better in theory than in
reality. I won’t go into too many details here, but at the end of the day,
voice chat is still an inconvenience in Splatoon 2. While this is not a direct
fault of the game, it still slightly holds it back from its full potential.
A fresh coat of ink
The world of
Splatoon has never looked better than it now does in Splatoon 2. The original
Splatoon was a gorgeous game when it released, always relying on a unique art
direction rather than pure graphical fidelity. The art direction is still
present in Splatoon 2, complete with the characteristic neon inks. However,
this time around there is so much more to behold in how Splatoon 2 looks. There
is a certain polish to everything that the game’s predecessor did not have.
First of all, Splatoon 2 constantly runs at a perfectly smooth 60 frames per second.
Nintendo made sure that the game would never drop below this threshold (apart
from being in the plaza), which means players will always have a smooth
experience when in battle. Also, there is a newfound vibrancy to the game. The
neon colors pop more, and textures are more detailed. This creates a beautiful
contrast between environment and ink. Some details in this game are so easy to
marvel at, such as the dark and grimy environment found while playing salmon
run, which offers a deep contrast from how the rest of the game looks and
feels. On top of all of that, Splatoon 2 honestly looks even better on the
tablet than it does on the TV! This is no knock against how the game looks in
docked mode, but is instead a compliment to how well Nintendo’s tablet runs and
looks. Nintendo really put a lot of time and effort into how Splatoon 2 looks,
and it is much appreciated.
Final thoughts
While Splatoon 2 may not be as different from its
predecessor as what has become standard for the shooter genre, it still brings
enough to the table to justify itself as a full-fledged sequel. Splatoon 2 adds
new game modes, such as Salmon Run, new weapons, loveable characters, and
revamped, eye-popping graphics to the already awesome formula of Splatoon 1.
Nintendo may have not reinvented the wheel with Splatoon 2, but they knew they
didn’t need to. Combining a pre-established formula that works with brand new
tweaks and elements, along with the promise of 1 year of free added content has
created an incredible experience. There are options that are standard for the
shooter genre frustratingly missing from Splatoon 2, but it still stands out as
a must have game on the Switch. I give Splatoon 2 a 9 out of 10.
To see full, in detail reviews of every game mode, check out these links:
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